806 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



The Greenhouse, Month to Month 



W. R. FOWKES 



DF.CEMBER'S chilly blasts remind us that we have 

 reached the end of the season of growth for most 

 plants. It is the harvest period when niunerous 

 plants indoors are in full bloom. 



The people who grow indoor grapes will realize it is 

 time to prune the vines. Cut back to two eyes for the 

 ordinary kinds, but if you are numbered among those who 

 grow large bunches and allow the quality of fruit to be 

 the last consideration, you will be growing the variety. 

 Gros Guillaume. \Mien pruning this unwield\- kind leave 

 four eyes, for they will not break as readily as Hamburg. 

 If your vine border is outside vou must now protect the 

 roots with two feet of .strawy manure. \\'ash the vii\es 

 with a good strong solution of X. L. All. 



In the greenhouse the Schisantliiis must be kept coi^l. 

 and water but little. Sow another pinch of seed of 

 large flowering kinds and you will have a continuous 

 display of this fairy-like orchid bloomer. 



Sow a small packet of candytuft, giant hyacinth, and 

 grow gentlv along. In four-inch pots they are exceed- 

 ingly useful and uncommon. 



We have the carnations and roses always with us. 

 but we must maintain a succession of free flowering, inex- 

 pensive plants besides the usual bullxius stock whose 

 cultivation is so well understood. 



Celosias are charming and for Winter's work I find 

 Carter's Rainbow excellent. Sow a pinch in a four-inch 

 pot and leafy soil is all they require from the start until 

 five-inch pots are reached, which is a most desirable size 

 for Winter work. Celsia cretica is another very pretty 

 plant, and the culture is the same as for celosias, except- 

 ing that the cooler end of the house will suit it better. 



A few gloxinia bulbs that have had a long rest can 

 be started. Prepare a shallow box and moss leaf mold 

 and sand will be a good medium to start them in. Dip 

 the corms first in a light solution of Fungine and you 

 are safe from decay, or fungus trouble. 



Tomatoes in pots must be kept on the dry side. Admit 

 air daily, and if closed at night see that the paths are 

 dry. You must fumigate with cyanide every fortnight 

 or white tlv will be a nuisance. We must keep up a con- 

 tinual fight against this persistent enemy of the tomato 

 plant. 



Fuchsias are wanted for next Spring, so we must rest 

 them for the Winter, either in a cool dry cellar, or under 

 the benches of a 'mum house will do, providing they are 

 laid on their side to keep water away. 



Heliotrope standards can now be kept on the dry side, 

 and prune them fairly close to form a good head. They 

 should be kept in a fairly warm atmosphere, and gently 

 syringed once daily and topdressed with Clay's Fertil- 

 izer. If the plants are given this attention you will have 

 a wealth of beautiful sky blue, sweetly scented flowers 

 that give a lovely effect when the great outdoor plants 

 are dormant. 



Calceolarias must have a very cool position and be 

 placed on coal ashes and not on dry boards or anything 

 conducive to red spider culture. Soot is the best fertilizer 

 for these charming plants. Bone meal is best for cine- 

 rarias, which will succeed with the same treatment as 

 the former plants. 



If you have to furnish plants for a conscrvatorv von 

 cannot fumigate them, so they must be dipped. 



Lapagerias are beautiful climbers with their waxy bell- 

 shaped blossoms and the coolest house you possess is their 

 correct place. 



Camellias have to be kept quiet : do not feed, over- 

 water, under-water, or have a dry arid atmosphere : if 

 vou want to keep these beautiful \Vinter blooming plants 

 to perfection. They are worthy of our greatest care 

 and attention. If your house is allowed to get much 

 higher in temperature at night than 45 degrees, the 

 camellias will not open properly ; also a large portion of 

 the buds will fall off. Above all things do not use lime. 

 They will not thrive in a very acid soil. 



If you require a plant in a warm house to cover a trellis, 

 grow a Marshal Niel rose. The rose should be already 

 cut back to the hard wood, leaving sufficient half-ripened 

 wood for the breaks. It must be remembered that this 

 finest rose flowers on the annual young growth. Their 

 true tea scented blooms, golden yellow, finely chiselled 

 buds, are always admired when well grown. 



Gloriosa Rothschildiana can be started at intervals and 

 grown on a trellis. Their blooms during the Winter 

 are invaluable. 



Lorraine begonias can have their blooming period 

 lengthened by pinching off a portion of the buds even,- 

 week. Late struck plants for Easter should be kept warm 

 and moist. 



Gardenias slmuld lie kept \\arm and syringed only on 

 bright days, lie careful that the foliage is dry before 

 sundown or the buds will surely fall off. Feed every ten 

 days with Clay's and fine loam to encourage surface roots, 

 without which they are useless. If galls attack the roots 

 they are futile, so careful watering and clear drainage 

 is important. 



Buddhia asiatica and l-arquarhi should be well fed and 

 watered. They demand a lot of notirishment and fre- 

 quent syringings to keep red spider at bay. 



Dcntzia gracilis is a nol>le plant for forcing, and well 

 repays any care given. They are in good forcing con- 

 dition if they have been grown in pots all .Summer, but 

 can also be forced fairly well if dug up and potted and 

 given a rest or gentle freeze. 



Lilacs can be brought inside early next month. Give 

 them a cool position imtil the buds commence to swell. 

 They will succeed if heat is given, and if brought back 

 when in bloom to the cool house will retain their lovely 

 blossoms. It must be borne in mind, however, that the 

 plants to be forced must have been grow-n without blooms 

 at least two years in order to be successful. 



Cyclamen now like an atmosphere a little warmer and 

 moister than the last few weeks, but about 60 degrees 

 with air is sufficient. Soot water once a week will be all 

 the food required. C)ver-fed leaves soon fall oft' and 

 such plants are poor subjects to take to the dwelling 

 house. 



.^ome of our aristocratic subjects, the orchids, have 

 finished their growth. Such varieties as Dcndrobium 

 nobilc. D. IVardiatutm, D. thyrsiflorum which are now 

 finished, and to be had in bloom later on must be rested. 

 We do not mean burnt up. Place in a lower tempera- 

 ture. The potting" shed or any cool room where the 

 temperature does not fall below 50 degrees will suit 

 finely. Give sufficient water only to prevent shrivelling, 

 once a week is enough. 



